- Put your pieces on better squares. This is the principle behind positional play:
- Knights are best when supported by a pawn but hard to dislodge. They are even better if they also happen to be in the center.
- Rooks are best on an open file, but even better if infiltrating the rank where their opponent's pawns initially are. This is because:
- They cut off the king from getting to the center
- It can gobble up pawns on and leaving the rank
- Bishops are best if not blocked off by pawns like this:
- Queens are best in the center if they cannot be kicked easily.
- Target the opponent's weaknesses (and try to avoid them). Examples of weaknesses:
- Weak squares. These are squares that the opponent cannot control with pawns. They should be seized (ideally with pawns), and then be used for your pieces (ideally a knight)
- Weak color complexes. This is when the opponent has a set of weak squares of the same color. In these kind of situations, you should try eliminating your opponent's bishop of the same color as the weak squares, while keeping your bishop of that color.
- Doubled pawns. This is when your opponent has two pawns on the same file. The reasons they are weak:
- They are easier to block, as there is one less pawn controlling the square in front of another.
- If you block one doubled pawn, you block both of them.
- The doubled pawn on top (from your opponent's POV) cannot be defended by a rook/queen from below.
- More examples of weaknesses to be added (e.g backward pawns, isolated pawns)